Uncategorized Archives - Page 8 of 11

45 45 90 Triangle

45 45 90 triangle

Greetings math folks! For anyone familiar with trigonometry and SOH CAH TOA trigonometric ratio you should know that there is something special about right triangles. We are about to learn more about right triangles, as there are two distinct types of special right triangles in this world that we need to know, this includes the 45 45 90 triangle and the 30 60 90 triangle. In this post, we are going to go over the 45 45 90 special right triangle! If you are looking for the other very famous special triangle, (30 60 90), check out this post here.

With the help of this special triangle, we are going to see how to find the missing sides of a right triangle when given only one of its lengths (and the angles of the right triangle given are 45 45 90). For even more examples, check out the video and practice questions below and at the end of this post. Happy calculating! 🙂

45 45 90 Right Triangle Ratio:

Looking above at our 45 45 90 special triangle, notice it contains one right angle and 2 equal angles of 45 degrees. Based on these angle proportions, we are able to infer information about each sides length, thats where our ratio comes in!

45 45 90 Triangle – Why is it special? Where did come from?

45 45 90 special right triangles are “special” because they are a type of Isosceles Right Triangle, meaning they have two equal sides (marked in blue below). If we know that the isosceles triangle has two equal lengths, we can find the value of the length of the hypotenuse by using the Pythagorean Theorem based on the other two equal sides. Check out how we derive the 45 45 90 ratio below!

Notice, we started with the Pythagorean Theorem, then filled in our variables based on each given sides length. Next, we combined like terms and then took the square root of each side of the equation. Lastly, we found the value of hypotenuse, c, based on the other two legs, which is equal to the length of a times radical 2.

Now that we know the length of the hypotenuse in terms of each sides length a, we can re-label our triangle. Since we found the length of the hypotenuse in relation to the two equal legs, notice that this creates a ratio that applies to each and every triangle out there!

How do I use this ratio?

Ok, great we have derived the 45 45 90 ratio, but what do I do with this thing and how do I use it?

Knowing the above ratio, allows us to find the length of any missing side of a 45 45 90 special triangle (when given the value of one of its sides).

Let’s now try some 45 45 90 right triangle examples with missing sides below:

Example #1:

Step 1: First, let’s look at our ratio and compare it to our given right triangle.

Step 2: Notice we are given the value of the bottom leg, a=8. Knowing this we can fill in each length of our right triangle based on the ratio of a 45 45 90 special triangle shown below:

Now let’s look at an example where we are given the length of the hypotenuse and need to find the values of the other two missing sides of a 45 45 90 right triangle.

Example #2:

Step 1: First, let’s look at our ratio and compare it to our given right triangle.

Step 2: In this case, we need to do a little math to find the value of a, based on the Pythagorean Theorem. See how we use the Pythagorean Theorem step by step below to find the value of missing sides represented by a.

Write out the Pythagorean Theorem Formula
Fill in the values from our given 45 45 90 triangle based on the side lengths
Combine like terms a2 + a2 = 2a2 given.
Take the square root of both sides of the equation
Divide both sides by radical 2 to get a alone
Rationalize the denominator by multiplying the numerator and denominator by radical 2 and simplify

We have found our solution!

Now try mastering the art of the 45 45 90 special triangle on your own with the practice problems below!

Practice Questions:

Find the value of each missing side length of each 45 45 90 right triangle.

Solutions:

Still got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions or check out the video above. Happy calculating! 🙂

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Variance and Standard Deviation: Statistics

Greetings math friends! In this post, we arere going to go over the formulas for Variance and Standard Deviation. We will take this step by step by explaining the significance of the variance and standard deviation formulas in relation to a set of data. Get your calculators ready because this step by step although not hard, will take some serious number crunching! Also, don’t forget to check out the video on standard deviation and variance below to see how to check your work using a calculator. Happy calculating! 🙂

If you’re looking for related formulas, Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) and Expected Value, scroll to the bottom of this post! And if you’re interested we’ll also touch upon the difference between population variance and sample variance later in this post.

What is the Variance?

The variance represents the spread of data or the distance each data point is from the mean. When we have multiple observations in our data, we want to know how far each unit of data is from the mean. Are all the data points close together or spread far apart? What is the probability distribution? This is what the variance will help tell us!

Don’t freak out but here’s the formula for variance, notated as using the greek letter, sigma squared, σ²:

where…

x_i= Value of Data Point

μ= mean

n=Total Number of Data Points]

(x_i-μ)=Distance each data point is to the mean

In plain English, this translates to:

Let’s try an example to find the standard deviation and variance of the data set below.

Step 1: First, let’s find the mean, μ.

Step 2: Now that we have the mean, we are going to do each part of our formula one step at a time in the table below.

Notice we subtract each test score from the mean, μ=78. Then we square the result of each subtracted test score to get the squared deviation of each data value, then finally sum all the squared results together.

Step 3: Now that we summed all of our squared deviations, to get 730, we can fill this in as our numerator in the variance formula. We also know our denominator is equal to 5 because that is the total number of test scores in our data set.

What is Standard Deviation?

Standard deviation is a unit of measurement that is unique to each data set and is used to measure the spread of data. The standard deviation formula happens to be very similar to the variance formula!

Below is the formula for standard deviation, notated as sigma, the greek letter, σ:

Since this is the same exact formula as variance with a square root, all we need to do is take the square root of the variance to find standard deviation:

Sample VS. Population

What is the difference between a sample vs. a population?

A population in statistics refers to an entire data set that at times can be humanly incapable of reaching.

For example: If we wanted to know the average income of everyone who lives in New York State, it would be almost impossible to reach every working person and ask them how much they make for a living.

To make up for the impossibility of data collection, we usually only survey a sample of the entire population to get income levels of let’s say 10,000 people across New York State, a much more reasonable in terms of data collecting!

And taking this sample size from the entire working population of New York State provides us with a sample mean, a sample variance, and a sample standard deviation.

On the other hand, if we were able to ask every student in a school what their grade point average was and get an answer, this would be an example of a whole population. Using this information, we would be able to find the population mean, population variance, and population standard deviation.

Sample notation also differs from population notation, but don’t worry about these too much, because the formulas and meanings remain the same. For example, the population mean is represented by the greek letter, μ, but the sample mean is represented by x bar.

Now try calculating the standard deviation of each data set below on your own with the following practice problems!

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Other Related Formulas

Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD):

The Mean Absolute Deviation otherwise known as MAD is another formula related to variance and standard deviation. In the MAD formula above, notice we are doing very similar steps, by finding the distance to the mean of each data point, only this time we are taking the aboslute value of the ditsance to the mean. Then we sum all the absolute value distances together and divide by the total number of data points.

Why do we use aboslute value in this formula? We take the absolut value, because if didn’t the distance to the means summed togther would cancel eachother out to get zero!

Where…

X = Data point value

μ = mean

N=Total number of data points

|X-μ|=absolute deviation

If we were to take the sample from our example earlier,60, 85, 95, 70, 80, in this post and find the MAD it would go something like this:

Expected Value:

Expected Value is the weighted average of all possible outcomes of one “game” or “gamble” based on the respective probabilities of each potential outcome for a discrete random variable. A “gamble” is defined by the following rules: 1) All possible outcomes are known 2) An outcome cannot be predicted 3) All possible outcomes are of numeric value and 4) The Game can be repeated multiple times under the same conditions.

Still got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions or check out the video above. Happy calculating! 🙂

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Also! If you’re looking for more statistics, check out this post on how to create and analyze box and whisker plots here!

Combining Like Terms and Distributive Property: Algebra

Greetings math peeps! In today’s post, we are going to review some of the basics: combining like terms and distributive property. It’s so important to master the basics such as these, so you’re prepared and ready to handle the harder stuff that’s just around the corner, trust me they’re coming! And for those who already feel comfortable with these topics, great! Skip ahead and try the practice questions at the bottom of this post and happy calculating! 🙂

When do we combine “like terms?”

Combining like terms allows us to simplify and calculate our answer with terms that have the same variable and same exponent values only. For example, we can combine the following expression:

distributive property and combining like terms

How do we combine like terms?

We add or subtract the whole number coefficients and keep the variable they have in common.

Why? We could not add these two terms together because their variables do not match! 2 is multiplied by x, while 3 is multiplied by the variable xy.

Why? We could not add these two terms together because their variables and exponents do not match! 2 is multiplied by x, while 3 is multiplied by the variable x^2 . Exponents for each variable must match to be considered like terms.

Distributive Property:

Combining like terms and the distributive property go hand in hand. The distributive property rule states the following:

There are no like terms to combine in the example above, but let’s see what it would like to use the distributive property and combine like terms at the same time with the following examples:

Example #1:

Example #2:

In some cases, we also have to distribute the -1 that can sometimes “hide” behind a parenthesis.

Try the following questions on your own on combining like terms and the distributive property and check out the video above for more!

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Still got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions or check out the video above. Happy calculating! 🙂

Looking to review more of the basics? Check out this post on graphing equations of a line y=mx+b here.

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Imaginary and Complex Numbers: Algebra 2/Trig.

Happy Wednesday and back to school season math friends! This post introduces imaginary and complex numbers when raised to any power exponent and when multiplied together as a binomial. When it comes to all types of learners, we got you between the video, blog post, and practice problems below. Happy calculating! 🙂

What are Imaginary Numbers?

Imaginary numbers happen when there is a negative under a radical and looks something like this:

Why does this work?

In math, we cannot have a negative under a radical because the number under the square root represents a number times itself, which will always give us a positive number.

Example:

But wait, there’s more:

When raised to a power, imaginary numbers can have the following different values:

Knowing these rules, we can evaluate imaginary numbers, that are raised to any value exponent! Take a look below:

-> We use long division, and divide our exponent value 54, by 4.

-> Now take the value of the remainder, which is 2, and replace our original exponent. Then evaluate the new value of the exponent based on our rules.

What are Complex Numbers?

Complex numbers combine imaginary numbers and real numbers within one expression in a+bi form. For example, (3+2i) is a complex number. Let’s evaluate a binomial multiplying two complex numbers together and see what happens:

-> There are several ways to multiply these complex numbers together. To make it easy, I’m going to show the Box method below:

Try mastering imaginary and complex numbers on your own with the questions below!

Practice:

Solutions:

Still got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions or check out the video above. Don’t forget to sign up for FREE weekly MathSux videos, lessons, and practice questions. Thanks for stopping by and happy calculating! 🙂

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Also, if you’re looking to learn more about dividing polynomials, check out this post here!

Looking for more on Quadratic Equations and functions? Check out the following Related posts!

Factoring Review

Factor by Grouping

Completing the Square

The Discriminant

Is it a Function?

Focus and Directrix of a Parabola

Quadratic Equations with 2 Imaginary Solutions

How to Construct an Equilateral Triangle?: Geometry

Happy Wednesday math peeps! This post introduces constructions by showing us how to construct an equilateral triangle by using a compass and straightedge (or ruler). For anyone new to constructions in geometry, this is the perfect topic for art aficionados since there is more drawing here than there is actual math!

What is an Equilateral Triangle?

Equilateral Triangle: An equilateral triangle is a triangle with three equal sides. Not an easy one to forget, the equilateral triangle is super easy to construct given the right tools (compass+ straightedge). Take a look below:

equilateral triangle
equal sides — Equilateral Triangle: Triangle with all equal sides

Construct an Equilateral Triangle Example:

Check out the GIF below to see how to construct an equilateral triangle step by step using a compass and straightedge with pictures and explanations below!

Solution:

How to Construct an Equilateral Triangle b c

What’s Happening in this GIF?

1. Using a compass, we measure the distance of line segment .

2. With the compass point remaining on point A, we then draw an arc that has the same distance as line segment .

3. With the compass now placed on point B, draw an arc that has the same distance as line segment .

4. Notice where the arcs intersect? Using a ruler, connect points A and B to the new intersection point. This will create two new equal sides of our triangle!

5. We have now officially constructed a triangle with all equal side lengths!

Constructions and Related Posts:

Looking to construct more than just an equilateral triangle? Check out these related posts on geometry constructions!

Construct a Perpendicular Bisector

Perpendicular Line through a Point

Angle Bisector

Construct a 45º angle

Altitudes of a Triangle (Acute, Obtuse, Right)

Construct a Square inscribed in a Circle

Best Geometry Tools!

Looking to get the best construction tools? Any compass and straight-edge will do the trick, but personally, I prefer to use my favorite mini math toolbox from Staedler. Stadler has a geometry math set that comes with a mini ruler, compass, protractor, and eraser in a nice travel-sized pack that is perfect for students on the go and for keeping everything organized….did I mention it’s only $7.99 on Amazon?! This is the same set I use for every construction video in this post. Check out the link below and let me know what you think!

Still got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment with any questions. Happy calculating! 🙂

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Looking to learn more about triangles? Check out this post on right triangle trigonometry here! And if you’re looking for even more geometry constructions, check out the link here!

Expanding Cubed Binomials: Algebra 2/Trig.

Greetings math friends! This post will go over expanding cubed binomials using two different methods to get the same answer. We’re so used to seeing squared binomials such as, , and expanding them without a second thought. But what happens when our reliable squared binomials are now raised to the third power, such as,? Luckily for us, there is a Rule we can use:

But where did this rule come from? And how can we so blindly trust it? In this post we will prove why the above rule works for expanding cubed binomials using 2 different methods:

Why bother? Proving this rule will allow us to expand and simplify any cubic binomial given to us in the future! And since we are proving it 2 different ways, you can choose the method that best works for you.

Method #1: The Box Method

Step 1: First, focus on the left side of the equation by expanding (a+b)³:

Step 2: Now we are going to create our first box, multiplying (a+b)(a+b). Notice we put each term of (a+b) on either side of the box. Then multiplied each term where they meet.

Step 3: Combine like terms ab and ab, then add each term together to get a²+2ab+b².

Step 4: Multiply (a²+2ab+b²)(a+b) making a bigger box to include each term.

Step 5: Now combine like terms (2a²b and a²b) and (2ab² and ab²), then add each term together and get our answer: a³+3a²b+3ab²+b³.

Screen Shot 2020-08-18 at 10.21.05 PM.png

Method #2: The Distribution Method

Screen Shot 2020-08-18 at 10.17.54 PM.png

Let’s expand the cubed binomial using the distribution method step by step below:

Now that we’ve gone over 2 different methods of cubic binomial expansion, try the following practice questions on your own using your favorite method!

Practice Questions: Expand and simplify the following.

Solutions:

Screen Shot 2020-08-18 at 10.22.19 PM.png

Still, got questions? No problem! Check out the video above or comment below! Happy calculating! 🙂

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**Bonus: Test your skills with this Regents question on Binomial Cubic Expansion!

Recursive Rule

Welcome to Mathsux! This post is going to show you everything you need to know about how to use a Recursive Formula by looking at three different examples of a recursive rule. Check out the video below for more of an explanation and test your skills with the practice questions at the bottom of this page. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below and happy calculating! 🙂

What is a Recursive Formula or a Recursive Rule?

A Recursive Formula is a type of formula that forms a sequence based on the previous term value. The recursive rules for each formula vary, but we are always given the first term and a formula to find the consecutive terms in the recursive sequence.

Recursive formula can be written as an arithmetic sequence (a sequence where the same number is either added or subtracted to each subsequent term to form a pattern) and recursive formulas can also be written as arithmetic sequences (a sequence where the same number is either multiplied or divided to each subsequent term to form a pattern). We’ll go over an example of each but both types of recursive rules are treated the same exact way!

What does all of this mean? Check out the example below for a clearer picture.

Example #1: Arithmetic Recursive Sequence

Step 1: First, let’s decode what these formulas are saying.

Step 2: The first term, represented by a₁, is and will always be given to us. In this case, our first term has the value a₁=2 and represents the first term of our recursive sequence.

a₁= First Term=2

Step 3: We then plug in the value of our first term, which is a₁=2 into our formula a_n+4 to get 2+4=6. The number 6 now has the value of our second term in the recursive sequence.

a₁= 2 First Term

a₂= (2)+4=6 Second Term

Step 4: Now we are going to continue the pattern, plugging in the value of each previous term to find the next consecutive terms in our recursive sequence.

The pattern can be more easily seen below. Notice we are able to find the value of all 5 terms of the recursive sequence for the solution only given the first term and recursive formula at the beginning of our question.

Step 5: We found the recursive sequence we were looking for: 2, 6, 10, 14, 18. Since the question was originally only asking for the value of the fifth term we know our solution only needs to be the value of the fifth term which is 18.

Example #2: Geometric Recursive Sequence

Step 1: First, let’s decode what these formulas are saying.

Step 2: The first term, represented by a₁, is and will always be given to us. In this case, our first term has the value a₁=1 and represents the first term of our recursive sequence.

a₁= First Term=1

Step 3: We then plug in the value of our first term, which is a₁=1 into our formula 2^a_n+1 to get 2¹+1=3. The number 3 now has the value of our second term in the recursive sequence.

a₁= 1 First Term

a₂= 2⁽¹⁾+1=3 Second Term

Step 4: Now we are going to continue the pattern, plugging in the value of each previous term to find the next term in our recursive sequence.

The pattern can be more easily seen below. Notice we are able to find the value of all 3 terms of the recursive sequence for the solution only given the first term and recursive formula at the beginning of our question.

***Note this was written in a different notation but is solved in the exact same way! This recursive formula is a geometric sequence.

Step 5: We found the recursive sequence we were looking for: 1,3,9. Since the question was originally only asking for the value of the third term we know our solution only needs to be the value of the third term which is 9.

Example #3:

Step 1: First, let’s decode what these formulas are saying.

Step 2: The first term, represented by a₁, is and will always be given to us. In this case, our first term has the value a₁=4 and represents the first term of our recursive sequence.

a₁= First Term=4

Step 3: We then plug in the value of our first term, which is a₁=4 into our formula 3a_n-1-2 to get 3(2)-1=5. The number 5 now has the value of our second term in the recursive sequence.

a₁= 4 First Term

a₂= 3(2)-1=5 Second Term

Step 4: Now we are going to continue the pattern, plugging in the value of each previous term to find the next term in our recursive sequence.

Step 5: We found the recursive sequence we were looking for: 4,10,28. Since the question was originally only asking for the value of the third term we know our solution only needs to be the value of the third term which is 28.

Think you are ready to solve a recursive equation on your own?! Try finding the specific term in each given recursive function below:

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Looking to learn more about sequences? You’ve come to the right place! Check out these sequence resources and posts below. Personally, I recommend looking at the arithmetic sequence or geometric sequence posts next!

Arithmetic Sequence

Geometric Sequence

Finite Arithmetic Series

Finite Geometric Series

Infinite Geometric Series

Golden Ratio in the Real World

Fibonacci Sequence

Still, got questions? No problem! Don’t hesitate to comment below or reach out via email. And if you would like to see more MathSux content, please help support us by following ad subscribing to one of our platforms. Thanks so much for stopping by and happy calculating!

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***Bonus! Want to test yourself with a similar NYS Regents question on Recursive Formulas? Click here! And if you want to learn about even more sequences, check out the link here!

Reflections: Geometry

Greetings and welcome to Mathsux! Today we are going to go over reflections geometry, one of the many types of transformations that come up in geometry. And thankfully, reflection transformation is one of the easiest types to master, especially if you’re more of a visual learner/artistic type person. In this post, we will go over a reflection across the line x=-2, but if you want to see a reflection across the x axis, the y axis, and the line y=x, please check out the math video below! So let’s get to it! And if you’re new to transformations, check out translations here.

What are Reflections?

A Reflection on a coordinate plane is exactly what you think! A reflection is a type of transformation in geometry where we reflect a point, a line segment, or a shape over a line to create a mirror image of itself. Think of the wings of a butterfly, a page being folded in half, or anywhere else where there is perfect symmetry, each of these are great examples of a reflection!

Reflection Rules:

If you are completely new to reflections, you may want to check out the video above that goes into deriving reflection rules over the different axis. But for those of you more comfortable with reflection, check out the example below where we reflect the image of a triangle onto itself over the line x=-2.

Example:

Step 1: First, let’s draw in line x=-2. Note that whenever we have x equal to a number, we end up drawing a vertical line at that point on the x axis, in this case at x=-2.

Step 2: Find the distance each point is from the line x=-2 and reflect it on the other side, measuring the same distance.

First, let’s look at point C, notice it’s 1 unit away from the line x=-2 on the right. To reflect point c, we are going to count 1 unit but this time to the left of the line x=-2 and label our new point, C^|.

Step 3: Now we are going to reflect coordinate point A in much the same way! Notice that point A is 2 units away on the left of line x=-2, we then want to measure 2 units to the right of our line x=-2 and mark our new coordinate point, A^|.

Step 4: Lastly, we want to reflect coordinate point B. This time, point B is 1 unit away on the right side of the line x=-2, we then measure 1 unit to the opposite direction of our line, x=-2, and mark our new point, B^|.

Step 5: Now that we have all the newly reflected coordinate points of our triangle, finally, we can now connect them all, for our fully reflected image of right triangle A^|B^|C^|.

Notice our newly reflected triangle is not just a mirror image of itself, but when the original figure is reflected it actually ends up overlapping onto itself!? How did this happen? That is because this our reflection line came right down the middle of our original image, triangle ABC. Shapes that reflect onto themselves are a bit tricky but not impossible, just remember to measure out the distance of each coordinate point and reflections should be a breeze!

Rigid Motion:

Reflections are a special type of transformation in geometry that maintains rigid motion, meaning when a point, line, or shape is reflected the angles, and line segments retain their value. For example, if we were to measure the area of both right triangles, before and after reflection, we would find the areas to remain unchanged. Meaning the area of triangle ABC is equal to the area of triangle A^|B^|C^| . Another rigid transformation includes rotations and translations.

Looking to practice your new reflection skills? Try the reflection practice problems below, with solutions to each question, to truly master the topic! Happy calculating!

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Still got questions? No problem! Check out the video above or comment below! There is also a bonus video if you scroll all the way down at the end of this post for anyone who wants to see how to reflect a line over the line x=2. See how it differs and how it is similar to the example shown here. Happy calculating! 🙂

Don’t forget to follow MathSux on social media for the latest tips and tricks to ace math!

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And if you are looking for more Transformations Check out the related posts below and let me know if you have any questions? Or maybe you just want to share your favorite type of transformation? Either way, happy calculating!

Translations

Dilations

Rotation

Piecewise Functions: Algebra

Greetings, today’s post is for those in need of a piecewise functions review! This will cover how to graph each part of that oh so intimidating piecewise functions. There’s x’s, there are commas, there are inequalities, oh my! We’ll figure out what’s going on here and graph each part of the piecewise-function one step at a time. Then check yourself with the practice questions at the end of this post. Happy calculating! 🙂

What are Piece-Wise Functions?

Exactly what they sound like! A function that has multiple pieces or parts of a function. Notice our function below has different pieces/parts to it. There are different lines within, each with their own domain.

Now let’s look again at how to solve our example, solving step by step:

Translation: We are going to graph the line f(x)=x+1 for the domain where x > 0

To make sure all our x-values are greater than or equal to zero, we create a table plugging in x-values greater than or equal to zero into the first part of our function, x+1. Then plot the coordinate points x and y on our graph.

Screen Shot 2020-07-21 at 10.05.00 AM.png

Translation: We are going to graph the line f(x)=x-3 for the domain where x < 0.

To make sure all our x-values are less than zero, let’s create a table plugging in negative x-values values leading up to zero into the second part of our function, x-3. Then plot the coordinate points x and y on our graph.

Ready to try the practice problems below on your own!?

Practice Questions:

Graph each piecewise function:

Solutions:

Still got questions? No problem! Check out the video above or comment below for any questions. Happy calculating! 🙂

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***Bonus! Want to test yourself with a similar NYS Regents question on piecewise functions? Click here.

Intersecting Secants Theorem: Geometry

Ahoy! Today we’re going to cover the Intersecting Secants Theorem! If you forgot what a secant is in the first place, don’t worry because all it is a line that goes through a circle. Not so scary right? I was never scared of lines that go through circles before, no reason to start now.

If you have any questions about anything here, don’t hesitate to comment below and check out my video for more of an explanation. Stay positive math peeps and happy calculating! 🙂

Wait, what are Secants?

Intersecting Secants Theorem: When secants intersect an amazing thing happens! Their line segments are in proportion, meaning we can use something called the Intersecting Secants Theorem to find missing line segments. Check it out below:

Let’s now see how we can apply the intersecting Secants Theorem to find missing length.

Screen Shot 2020-07-14 at 10.45.29 PM.png

Step 1: First, let’s write our formula for Intersecting Secants.

Step 2: Now fill in our formulas with the given values and simplify.

Step 3: All we have to do now is solve for x! I use the product.sum method here, but choose the factoring method that best works for you!

Step 4: Since we have to reject one of our answers, that leaves us with our one and only solution x=2.

Screen Shot 2020-07-14 at 10.14.41 PM.png

Ready to try the practice problems below on your own!?

Practice Questions: Find the value of the missing line segments x.

Solutions:

Screen Shot 2020-07-20 at 9.30.55 AM.png

Still got questions? No problem! Check out the video above or comment below for any questions and follow for the latest MathSux posts. Happy calculating! 🙂

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To review a similar NYS Regents question check out this post here.

Circle Theorems & Formulas

Central Angle Theorem

Inscribed Angles & Intercepted Arcs

Area of a Sector

Circle Theorems

45 45 90 Right Triangle Ratio:

45 45 90 Triangle – Why is it special? Where did come from?

How do I use this ratio?

Example #1:

Example #2:

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Related Trigonometry Posts:

What is the Variance?

What is Standard Deviation?

Sample VS. Population

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Other Related Formulas

Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD):

Expected Value:

When do we combine “like terms?”

How do we combine like terms?

Distributive Property:

Example #1:

Example #2:

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

What is an Equilateral Triangle?

Construct an Equilateral Triangle Example:

Solution:

What’s Happening in this GIF?

Constructions and Related Posts:

Best Geometry Tools!

Method #1: The Box Method

Method #2: The Distribution Method

What is a Recursive Formula or a Recursive Rule?

Example #1: Arithmetic Recursive Sequence

Example #2: Geometric Recursive Sequence

Example #3:

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Related Posts:

What are Reflections?

Reflection Rules:

Example:

Rigid Motion:

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

What are Piece-Wise Functions?

Practice Questions:

Solutions:

Circle Theorems & Formulas